Victorian families struggling to cope with rising energy prices

Victoria's Energy and Water Ombudsman is predicting a rise in the number of people who will not be able to pay for essential services because of rising energy prices.

About 74,000 consumers lodged formal complaints last financial year, more than half were concerned about high bills and billing errors.

Complaints have more than doubled in the last five years and are up 22 per cent up on last year.

The Ombudsman, Cynthia Gebert, says bill stress will only increase for some families.

"One of the things that really alarms me is as the prices continue to go up across the board we're going to see more and more customers that are just too stretched to pay for essential services," she said.